Aldrich is so sour that even on his best behavior he has Jimmy Stewart as a character that would rather everyone die than he be wrong while the most unlikable character (Hardy Kruger) is the hero. Still a great twist in the final act.

First time viewing, all the way through... never clicked with me when I first attempted years ago--didn't like the fact that, other than the name (and, you know, vampires), there wasn't a single recognizable aspect to any of the "Tomb of Dracula" comics that I adored. Found the Blu-ray on the cheap, right in time for it's 20th anniversary, and figured what the heck...

All-in-all, much more solid, bloodier, weirder and stylishly- and competently-directed than I was expecting. Having said that, the acting is also wooden, the dialogue is perfunctory, and some of the instantly-dated CGI work is downright abysmal (the climax is quite the eyesore!).

But... in the end it was still decent for what it was. And really, the main selling point is Wesley Snipes, who just looks goddamned fantastic throughout. Not comic-accurate, mind you, but still killer.

Brilliant adaptation of the Hemingway story...which is, like, five pages long and accounts for about the first 10 minutes of the movie. The movie they managed to build around the original story is really good (uncredited writers include Richard Brooks, John Huston, and Don Siegel; beautifully shot by Woody Bredell; the debut/big break of both Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner), it just can't help but be a slight comedown from that first reel.

I finally bit the bullet and checked this out from my library on DVD. I had made no effort to see it in the theaters after having a couple of "WTF" moments when I first saw the trailer... But the chance to see both Gal Gadot and Amy Adams onscreen eventually wore down my resistance.

I also rather enjoy Ben Affleck's take on Batman/Bruce Wayne, although I wish he could have played the role back in the late 90's when he was better suited for it. He could have helped to salvage the trainwreck after Kilmer and Clooney.

Overall, the JL movie wasn't as bad as I expected it would be. It is still several notches below the best of the comic book adaptation films but there were elements of it that I enjoyed. But there were still too many flaws for me to overlook.

I can only hope that they make some serious changes to how they portray The Flash onscreen in any future films. Ezra Miller is a fine young actor (he was brilliant in The Perks Of Being A Wallflower) but his portrayal of Barry Allen was so far off the mark that I cringed every time he opened his mouth.

I won't be shedding any tears if they fail to make a JL sequel... And I won't fork over any of my hard earned cash to see the Aquaman movie when it hits the theaters. Momoa should have stuck to playing Conan the Barbarian instead.

Another example of the "Ready! Fire! Aim!" approach to movie making that Hollywood keeps repeating ad infinitum...

I can only hope that they make some serious changes to how they portray The Flash onscreen in any future films. Ezra Miller is a fine young actor (he was brilliant in The Perks Of Being A Wallflower) but his portrayal of Barry Allen was so far off the mark that I cringed every time he opened his mouth.

••

Seemed like they wanted their own Spider-Man, and the Flash got elected.

Entertaining conspiracy thriller of the type that they were doing back then (CIA, shadow CIA, oil plot). Good cast (Redford, Max von Sydow, Cliff Robertson, John Houseman) and Owen Roizman (FRENCH CONNECTION, PELHAM 123) shooting New York locations? Sure, I'll take that. This all outweighs the somewhat unconvincing (being kind) romance between Redford and Faye Dunaway as well as, uh, Dave Grusin.

HUE AND CRY (1947) D: Charles Crichton

The putative first Ealing comedy. A gang of kids foil a crook when they uncover his scheme in which he sends instructions to his crew via a comic strip in a boys serial, The Trump (!) The kids are all terrific as is Alastair Sim playing the innocent writer of the strip. The movie offers an amazing look at post-war bombed out London and locations like Covent Garden, Holborn Viaduct, ruins along the bank by Battersea Power Station and Southwark Bridge. There's also a scene where the kids make their escape and travel through the sewers, THIRD MAN-style.

This one had good cast but it certainly wasn't the cinematic juggernaut that I was expecting given the box office and accolades that the film received.

A solid effort, but even I could spot the errors in the story and I wasn't even attempting to do so. I can't help but wonder if the movie would have been better if the director had stuck with the actual events rather than inserting scenes that were purely fictional. Oh well.

Shock Waves(1977): Visitors to a remote island discover that a reclusive Nazi commandant has been breeding a group of Zombie soldiers(synopsis courtesy of imdb). Features Peter Cushing, John Carradine, Brooke Adams & Luke Halpin(of Flipper fame), the zombies are pretty well done and the story is just okay(but still fun).

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